Last updated on: 7/19/2010 | Author: ProCon.org

Did You Know?

1. Researchers estimate that approximately 1-10% of the US population is lesbian, gay or bisexual.
2. According to a 2006 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, having older biological brothers may play a role in determining male sexual orientation. The study reports that the odds of being gay increase 33% with each older male sibling.
3. Various researchers equate the traits of same-sex orientation with left-handedness. The similar traits reported include: 5-8% overall minority orientation, minority orientation higher in men than women, X-chromosome linkage implied, identical twins more likely to share minority orientation, external expression can be altered, internal expression cannot be altered, and more.
4. Sandor Rado, MD, a Columbia University professor, proposed in 1940 the theory that homosexuality is a phobia of members of the opposite sex.
5. Biologist and researcher Bruce Bagemihl, PhD, reported in 1999 that same-sex behavior has been observed in over 478 animal species, including penguins, domestic chickens, lions, and bottlenose dolphins.
6. The Department of Defense listed homosexuality as a mental disorder in its policy instructions for retiring or separating service members due to physical disability (made public on June 8, 2007).
7. Scientific studies have demonstrated physiological differences between heterosexual and homosexual people, such as eyeblink rates, inner ear structure, and hypothalamus size. Other studies have disputed these findings on anatomical differences.
8. A Nov. 4, 2004 Gallup Poll asked 1,000 adults "In your view, is homosexuality something a person is born with, or is homosexuality due to factors such as upbringing and environment?;" 41% of the respondents said homosexuality is influenced by a person's "upbringing/environment," 37% indicated it was something a person is "born with," 11% said "both," 3% "neither," and 8% "no opinion."
9. A June 22-24, 2007 CNN/Opinion Research poll asked 1,029 adults "Can homosexuals change their sexual orientation if they choose to do so?;" 56% responded "No," 36% "Yes," and 8% indicated "No opinion."
10. Paul W. Ewald, PhD, a biology professor at Amherst College in Massachusetts, and Gregory Cochran, PhD, an independent physicist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, developed a theory that homosexuality can be caught by a germ.
11. The American Psychiatric Association says that research lends "considerable credence" to the theory that repressed homosexual urges may be the root of homophobic behavior by hterosexual men. The organization offers an alternative theory that anxiety in sexual responsiveness can also be a reason for homophobia.
12. The Catholic Medical Association reports that sexual orientation is treatable and that about 30% of those who seek "ex-gay" therapy experience a "freedom from symptoms" while another 30% experience "improvement." The American Psychiatric Association argues that homosexuality is not treatable because it is not an illness.
13. The first anti-homosexual law in the American colonies resulted in the 1624 hanging of Richard Cornish for having sex with a 29-year-old cabin boy.